Playing Human World
by Princess Adrenaline
Summary: A play is the last thing that the gang wants to do, but they get tricked into doing one anyway. Soul is enraged when he finds out that Maka is the female lead in Romeo and Juliet, but a mysterious new student is Romeo while Soul is stuck backstage. Can a nobody win Juliet before she falls for Romeo?
1. In Which They Become Little Dolls

Maka walked up the giant stair well with Soul at her side. "Isn't this exciting, Soul? We're getting hands-on training without the risk of getting killed!"

Soul, annoyed at his meister, gritted his teeth and exhaled audibly. "Maka, as much as I love fighting with you, I would really prefer playing basketball right now. It's _summer,_ for crying out loud. Why can't we do this during the school year?"

She wiped some sweat from her face. "The time to hone your skills as a Death Scythe is _now_, while we have all this time to spare! You would have wasted the summer if it wasn't for me."

He rolled his eyes and opened the door for her. "Give me a break. We're almost a perfect team, Maka. We don't need to be re-taught how to make me an invincible Death Scythe."

"Maybe we wouldn't _need_ to do this if you had taken some of those lessons and actually tried to do what they said!" She walked inside, glad that the school was air-conditioned in the burning heat of Nevada. There was a sign that read: _If you are here for the WM training camp, please report to Lord Death before heading to the auditorium._ "That's convenient," she murmured, heading down the hallway.

"Hey," Soul called out, catching up to her. "Don't you think it's weird that we have to go to the auditorium? Wouldn't they prefer that we go outside where it's open or something?"

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe they don't want us to die of heat stroke. Besides, the stage is big; it's not impossible to train on it."

"I guess," he muttered, still obviously suspicious of Lord Death's true intentions.

When they arrived at the Death Room, the headmaster greeted them enthusiastically. "Soul! Maka! I'm so glad you came to join us at camp!"

Maka grinned. "It's good to be here, Lord Death!" She looked around. "Is there a reason why we're here talking to you?"

"I'd like to know," Soul muttered.

Lord Death smiled and clapped his large hands together. "I'm so glad you asked! Well, it's so that I can explain to you why this isn't _actually_ a WM training camp!" He chuckled. "It's a theater production!"

Maka's jaw dropped while Soul had a scowl on his face. "But sir...!" Maka breathed.

"I know, you two must be confused. You see, according to my statistics and history with this city, I calculated that we have approximately four months of peace before something chaotic happens, and since it's the summer, I decided that it would be great to immerse you kids in normal activities!" he explained excitedly. "I can't leave my mirror, so Marie and Stein will be directing the play. If you run away now, I'll expel you."

Soul was already slowly backing away, so at the threat of expulsion, he sighed and went back to the headmaster. "You lied 'cause you thought that no one would want to be an actor?"

"Well, all of you are naturally fighters, so I knew that it would be difficult to get people to cooperate. In short, you are correct. Please go to the auditorium now!"

Maka raised her hand. Her face was pale, as if she had seen a ghost. "B-But sir, none of us can act."

"I didn't think you would give up so quickly, Maka," Lord Death spoke in faked disappointment. "After persevering through the toughest of battles to make Soul into a Death Scythe, a _summer play_ scares you off so quickly?"

"Sir," she tried again, but Soul took her arm to leave the Death Room.

"Have fun!" the shinigami called out.

"What just happened?" Maka asked weakly.

Soul shook his head, but a knowing smile still graced his face. "I knew something was up. We're Lord Death's little dolls, and he wants to play 'human world.'"


	2. In Which His Name is Banned

Soul made small talk with Black Star, who had also fallen for Lord Death's trap. Apparently, Black Star had been convinced by Kid, who was the stage manager of the whole production. The two friends weren't looking forward to wasting their summer on a stupid play.

Maka seeked comfort in Tsubaki, but the latter was actually very excited for a play. "It'll be a great experience," she assured the meister. "I wonder what play we'll be doing?"

"A great question!" Marie called out, walking toward center-stage with Stein. "Welcome, students! I'm very sorry for tricking you like this, but this will be a lot of fun, I assure you!"

There were about forty students who were there, all murmuring unhappily.

"Hey, shut up," Stein ordered, irritated by the early-morning rehearsal. "I know you're all dying of suspense. The play is_ Romeo and Juliet_."

"Stein!" Marie complained. "_I_ wanted to tell them!"

_Romeo and Juliet_? No one knew what that was except for Marie, Stein, Kid, and Maka. The blonde meister sighed. "Are we using the original script or an adapted one?"

"Original," Stein answered simply before taking a gulp of his coffee. "Since we're pretty sure that all of you suck at acting, we'll just post up a cast list tomorrow. Is there anyone who can explain what Romeo and Juliet is about? Okay, Maka."

Maka hadn't even raised her hand, but her professor had good judgment, probably knowing how many books she read on a daily basis. "Yes," she replied, standing up from her seat. "Romeo and Juliet is a famous play by William Shakespeare. It takes place in Verona, Italy, where two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are quarreling. The Capulets host a party and three teens from the Montagues crash the party. One of them, Romeo, meets a Capulet named Juliet, and they fall in love. Keep in mind that Romeo is about eighteen and Juliet might be thirteen. Anyway, they get married secretly, but then Romeo kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, so he's banished from Verona. Juliet and some people she trusts make a plan to pretend that she's dead, but the message doesn't get to Romeo in time, so he comes back and discovers her body. He kills himself, she wakes up, kills herself, and the families make peace. The end." She sat back down while everyone gawked.

"Well done," Stein complimented her without changing his expression. "It's a romantic tragedy. We'll deal with the story later along, but let's just go over some rules today."

Marie and Stein went on to explain what was and wasn't allowed.

1. No food or drinks in the auditorium

2. Be respectful

3. No fighting (unless part of the play)

4. No transforming

5. You must attend rehearsal every day

Then came the list of words that were not permitted. Marie decided to take this task. "Lord Death wants this to be as normal of an experience as possible. If someone breaks a rule, everyone has to attend detention with Professor Stein for the first month of the school year. Okay! You may not say Soul (unless referring to the person), Kishin, Egg, Meister, Grigori, Death Scythe, Witch..." It seemed like forever until she finally finished. "...or Excalibur."

"Questions?" Stein asked.

A freshman named Tsugumi raised her hand. "Um, if all of us suck at acting, how are you going to choose roles for each of us?"

Marie smiled. "Unfortunately, not all of you are going to get roles. The cast list is in Lord Death's hands, but I believe that the more senior students will be getting the lead roles."

"Fantastic," Soul muttered. "I swear, if I end up being the dude who kills himself..."

"You'll accept it," Maka interrupted. "And his name is Romeo." She honestly didn't want Soul to be Romeo, because if he did, then some girl who was in love with him would get Juliet, and that wasn't going to go over well with the blonde meister.

"That's all! You may go home for the day!" Marie clapped. "See you all tomorrow!"


	3. In Which She Becomes the Star

The weapon-meister team returned to the auditorium the next day lest they be expelled. Well, it was mostly Soul dragging Maka back, even though she got them into this play in the first place. "C'mon, Maka, we'll be late for rehearsal. Do you really want to be Stein's experiment?" They ran through the halls, struggling to beat the clock to the theater.

"Soul, can't I pretend to be sick? I really don't want to act."

"What's your problem?" Soul growled. "You're always so optimistic and outgoing. Why does this play scare you so much?"

Maka halted outside of the auditorium, walking up to the cast list. "It's nothing," she lied. "Don't w-" Her eyes widened.

"What?" Soul stepped up to look at the list and nearly tore it up.

***CAST LIST***

**Romeo**: Aaron Monahan

**Juliet**: Maka Albarn

**Tybalt**: Black Star

**Nurse**: Tsubaki Nakatsukasa

**Mercutio**: Ox Ford

**Benvolio**: Harvar D. Eclair

**Paris**: Akane Hoshi

**Lady Montague**: Kim Diehl

**Lord Montague**: Kilik Rung

**Lady Capulet**: Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre

**Lord Capulet**: Pot of Fire

**Friar Lawrence**: Kana Altair

***BACKSTAGE LIST***

**Stage Manager**: Death the Kid

**Stage Left**: Anya Hepburn

**Stage Right**: Clay Sizemore

**Build Crew**: Meme Tatane + others

**Costumes**: Liz Thompson

**Lights/Sounds**: Patty Thompson

**Techies**: Soul Evans, Tsugumi Harudori, Pot of Thunder + others

"J...Juliet?" Maka breathed, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. "No way."

Soul clenched his fists. Who was this Aaron guy who was going to be all over Maka?_ And why am I only a stupid techie? I thought that Lord Death is choosing senior students for lead roles! Even that freshman Akane got Paris! What's Lord Death playing at?_ "Congrats," he spoke calmly, heading inside.

Maka quickly followed, still shaken by her lead role._ Holy crap, I'm Juliet! This is insane! How... How did I get chosen instead of someone like Kim?_ She stumbled into a seat next to Soul, realizing that they were just in time for the beginning of rehearsal.

Marie grinned. "I'm very pleased with the cast list! Aaron and Maka will have to work very hard, but we'll help them create a great show, right?"

Everyone was more excited now for sure now that people had real roles in the show, even if they were only backstage.

Stein cleared his throat. "We'll be getting started right away. Everyone needs to grab their own script. Once you do that, I will direct the actors while Marie leads the techies and gives them jobs. Disperse!"

Soul realized that suddenly, he wasn't going to be around Maka much anymore. She would meet her new love interest while he would be forced to be away and paint or whatever.

Maka waved to him after getting her script. "Bye, Soul!" She met up with a tall boy who Soul didn't recognize. _Could that be Aaron?_ he thought before tearing his eyes away. Marie led him and twenty other students to a new location.


	4. In Which His Black Blood Reacts

Soul was anxious. He had been picking at a scab for the past ten minutes while only partially listening to Marie's instructions. The words were unfamiliar to him, but he ended up stuck in a room with Tsugumi, some freshman who he knew admired Maka. "What are we doing?" he asked, watching the young girl hastily open and close some black cases.

Tsugumi jumped, obviously not expecting an upperclassman to talk to her. "Eh?"

The scythe nodded at the box she was holding. "What's the job we're supposed to do?"

"You weren't listening," Tsugumi murmured, although it was more of a statement than a question. "I mean, not that you weren't paying attention! I'm so sorry, that was really insensitive of m-"

"Whatever, I don't care, just tell me what we're doing."

She sweated a bit but answered his question. "Marie told us to count how many microphones we'll need and label them. At the same time we need to make sure that they're full on battery."

Simple enough. "I'll do that first part," Soul offered. "Since you've got nails, I'll let you pick at the battery."

Tsugumi giggled. "Okay!"

Soul looked over the cast list, which apparently Marie had reprinted for this purpose of counting and labelling microphones. "Twelve characters." He put three extra microphone boxes off to the side and grabbed the tape and Sharpie so he could label them. They worked silently for about ten minutes, with Tsugumi routinely checking the battery on each microphone while Soul stuck tape into the sleek boxes and scribbled character names onto them.

"Since we're done, why don't we go check on the cast?" Soul asked with a smile. "I'm so no one will mind if we take a peek."

"Eh?" Tsugumi watched Soul move to the door and scrambled after him. "Um, Soul Eater, I don't think that's a good idea. We're supposed to report to Marie when we're done...!"

"Doesn't matter." Soul ran down the hallway and quietly opened a door on the left where the auditorium was. He had a clear view of the stage from the very back and discreetly sat down in a seat.

Tsugumi, conflicted as she was, sat next to him and whispered, "Is this a good idea?"

"'Course it is," he murmured back, his eyes never leaving the stage. It looked like they were going through the ballroom scene. _I think Stein's just trying to knock out the most difficult scenes first to get them over with_, he guessed.

Maka stumbled onstage, pushed by Kim. She was gripping her script with such force that her knuckles turned white. In contrast, her co-star, 'Aaron,' gracefully walked in with Ox and Harvar. The three of them were laughing as if they had been childhood friends.

Soul narrowed his eyes. _Who is this guy?_ Aaron was pretty tall and definitely not lanky. He had some muscle to him, but seemed naturally slender. His black hair nearly blended in with his fedora, but suited him very well. He wore a Wicked t-shirt, which would ordinarily make someone look like a complete theater geek, but somehow he pulled it off.

_What is this, some perfect guy to come in and sweep Maka off her feet?_ Soul crossed his arms and sent radiating waves of anger at Aaron. It was no use, though. The guy was engulfed in the scene. _Show-off._

Black Star was the spitting image of Tybalt even if he went ad lib sometimes. He also understood that Aaron was Soul's competition and was very suspicious toward him.

Watching Pot of Fire and Black Star interact was so funny, especially since the former was supposed to be playing an older character. "I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitt'rest gall." Black Star stormed offstage, directing the attention to Maka and Aaron, who were down center and fidgeting.

With each deep word that came out of Aaron's mouth, Soul sank deeper into rage, especially seeing Maka so red in the face. He couldn't understand any Shakespeare, but he had a feeling that he would be researching the script soon to find out what exactly his meister was saying.

"S-Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake," Maka spoke out, becoming increasingly embarrassed.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take." Aaron stopped and looked at Stein. "What should we do about the k-"

"We need to get through this scene," Stein complained. "Just kiss so I can continue blocking this thing."

Soul stood up and marched away, flinging the door open and leaving so he wouldn't have to face some new guy slobbering all over Maka. Tsugumi followed, hastily grabbing the door so it wouldn't bang against the wall and closing it quietly.

"What was that?" Tsugumi asked, briskly walking to keep up with Soul.

"Nothing," he muttered. "I'm going home."

Tsugumi gasped. "You like her, don't you!" She grinned. "_That's_ why you wouldn't watch her kiss someone else!"

Soul stopped in his tracks, allowing the freshman to run into him. He turned to her, surprised at the accusation. "Don't be ridiculous. Maka can have all the fun she wants as the romantic heroine kissing her romantic hero and dying because of it. I don't _care_. We're friends, and that's it." He turned to fully face her and starting backing her up the hallway. "What do _you_ know, anyway? You're just a freshman. _Stupid_. _Useless_. Get off my back or I'll squish you like the bug you are." At this point, some of his Black Blood was starting to act up.

Tsugumi's eyes widened in fear. She didn't know how she was supposed to handle this kind of situation. "I'm sorry," she squeaked, shaking with terror.

A hand on his shoulder stopped his advance and immediately calmed down his Black Blood. He turned around, thinking it was Maka, but instead found Marie smiling gently at him. "Soul, young ladies are very sensitive, but if you really need to talk about this, my office is always open."

Soul smirked. He really owed a lot to his seniors at DWMA. "Can I just go home?"

"Are the doing the ballroom scene?"

He gave a curt nod.

Marie petted his hair and smiled brightly. "I understand now. Yes, it's been quite a day for you. Why don't you go home and rest a bit?"

"Thank you." Soul looked back at Tsugumi, who was wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. If you didn't already know, I have Black Blood in my body, so it was just the insanity acting up. I'll make it up to you." He nodded at Marie once more before booking it.


End file.
